JEDDAH: Veteran Egyptian actress Yousra has announced that she will file an official complaint with the State Information Service against The New York Times’ Cairo bureau, according to Masrawy news portal.
Yousra was one of several famous Egyptian TV personalities listed in a report by the Times’ London-based international correspondent David D. Kirkpatrick on Saturday — “Tapes Reveal Egyptian Leaders’ Tacit Acceptance of Jerusalem Move” — who allegedly took orders from Egyptian intelligence officer Ashraf Al-Khouly to “persuade their viewers” to accept US President Donald Trump’s decision to declare Jerusalem the capital of Israel.
The Times claimed to have an audio recording of telephone calls in which Al-Khouly instructed hosts of several popular talk shows that “instead of condemning the decision, they should persuade their viewers to accept it.”
The report caused outrage in Egypt’s artistic community. In a phone interview with TV show “Al-Asema” (The Capital) on Saturday, the president of Egypt’s Actors’ Syndicate, Ashraf Zaki, announced that the syndicate supported Yousra in “suing these programs and websites that are playing against Egypt.”
Egyptian actress Yousra denies New York Times’ claims
Egyptian actress Yousra denies New York Times’ claims
Supplies running out at Syria’s Al-Hol camp as clashes block aid deliveries
DAMASCUS: An international humanitarian organization has warned that supplies are running out at a camp in northeast Syria housing thousands of people linked to the Daesh group, as the country’s government fights to establish control over an area formerly controlled by Kurdish fighters.
The late Friday statement by Save the Children came a week after government forces captured Al-Hol camp, which is home to more than 24,000 people, mostly children and women, including many wives or widows of Daesh members.
The capture of the camp came after intense fighting earlier this month between government forces and members of the Kurdish-led and US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces during which forces loyal to interim President Ahmad Al-Sharaa captured wide areas in eastern and northeastern Syria.
The SDF signed a deal to end the fighting after suffering major defeats, but sporadic clashes between it and the government have continued.
Save the Children said that “critical supplies in Al-Hol camp are running dangerously low” as clashes are blocking the safe delivery of humanitarian aid.
It added that last week’s clashes around the camp forced aid agencies to temporarily suspend regular operations at Al-Hol. It added that the main road leading to the camp remains unsafe, which is preventing humanitarian workers from delivering food and water or running basic services for children and families.
“The situation in Al-Hol camp is rapidly deteriorating as food, water and medicines run dangerously low,” said Rasha Muhrez, Save the Children Syria country director. “If humanitarian organizations are unable to resume work, children will face still more risks in the camp, which was already extremely dangerous for them before this latest escalation.”
Muhrez added that all parties to the conflict must ensure a safe humanitarian corridor to Al-Hol so basic services can resume and children can be protected. “Lives depend on it,” she said.
The SDF announced a new agreement with the central government on Friday, aiming to stabilize a ceasefire that ended weeks of fighting and lay out steps toward integrating the US-backed force into the army and police forces.
